The Millennial Kingdom Part 1

THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST Spring Valley Mennonite; April 7, 2019; Revelation 20:1-15; Matthew 25:31-34; 41; Ezekiel 20:33-38; Isaiah 2:2-4; Daniel 7:13-14; Zechariah 8:2-3; 7-8; 20-23; Isaiah 65:17-25; I Corinthians 6:2 We are drawing near to the end of the book of Revelation. In our studies, the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus has occurred. The seven-year Tribulation Period has come to a climax with the final battle of Armageddon. King Jesus and His saints, both Old and New Testament are with Him on earth, ready to rule and reign alongside the Lord. The gathered armies of the earth have been annihilated by a single word of command from the Holy Son of God. All the wicked warriors of the armies of the world who gathered against King Jesus have been killed and consigned to the place of the wicked dead. They await the final judgment at the Great White Throne of God. The Antichrist and the false Prophet have been removed from earth and consigned eternally to the Lake of Fire. There remains one final judgment of all people still alive, righteous and unrighteous before the initiation of Christ’s earthly reign. The Lord Jesus instructs us in Matthew 25:31-46 about: I. THE JUDGMENT OF THE “SHEEP AND GOATS” Read Matthew 25:31-34; 41. Those Gentiles who have survived the turmoil and destruction of all the seal, trumpet and bowl judgments, both saved and unsaved will appear before the earthly throne of Jesus for judgment. What is the criteria for this judgment? (Read vv. 35-40) Those who have proven their faith by support of their Jewish neighbors are termed “sheep” and will enter the Millennial Kingdom. Those who continued in their hatred and persecution of the Jews, demonstrating their allegiance to Satan and Antichrist are termed “goats” and will be sent to “the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.” Here is an important point: Did you know hell was never intended for mankind? Man has been given the choice to accept the forgiveness of their sins. Only those who reject the free gift of salvation-- by that choice-- are choosing their eternal fate in hell. God sends no one to hell; each person has made that fateful choice. What about the Jews? They will also be gathered from where they have been hiding from the persecution of Antichrist. Ezekiel 20:33-38 speaks of their part in this sorting of righteous from unrighteous (Read). After this sorting, all those who have survived the past seven years, both Jews and Gentiles, are saved individuals, and enter into the 1000- year Millennial Kingdom. This brings us to Chapter 20 of Revelation. Chapter 20 contains: II. EVENTS LEADING TO AND RELATED TO THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM Read vv. 1-3. Satan bound The usurper, the one who has oppressed the world since Eden, the Serpent, the ruler of the kingdom of this world—is dethroned and bound for the 1000 years of the Millennium. He will be loosed at the end of this time for a short period to lead one final rebellion against Christ’s Kingdom. Read vv. 4-6. Martyrs Resurrected There will be a resurrection of the martyred saints of the Tribulation Period. They will receive their resurrected glorified bodies, just as we of the Church Age and the Old Testament Saints have received our glorified bodies at the Rapture. These resurrections are termed “The First Resurrection”, which applies only to the righteous. There is a second resurrection of all those wicked dead, from the time of Adam until the Tribulation Period; while they dwell in a place of torment, it is not their final place; they will be raised, given bodies which are indestructible, and suffer in the Lake of Fire forever. What a horrible fate! We’ll leave these wicked dead for a moment, as John records the final battle of the Millennium, the battle of Gog and Magog. Read vv. 7-9. Gog and Magog While all those who initially inhabit the Kingdom are saved individuals, they are still influenced by their old sin nature and will be like us, sinning and needing to confess and repent of their individual sins and be restored to fellowship. While Satan’s influence will be removed, the children who are born to the original saved members will each need to receive the forgiveness offered by the Lord Jesus, and be saved. As amazing as it seems, some will not respond to the Love of Christ, and will reject His offer of salvation. Even though Jesus will be reigning on the throne of David in Jerusalem, where He rules the world in righteousness, some will rebel against His just and righteous rule and continue in their sin. To quote J. Dwight Pentecost in his book Things to Come, “The millennial age is designed by God to be the final test of fallen humanity under the most ideal circumstances, surrounded by every enablement to obey the rule of the King, from whom the outward sources of temptation have been removed, so that man may be found a proven to be a failure in even this last testing of fallen humanity.” At the end of 1000 years, Satan will be loosed and lead a last ditch, futile rebellion against Christ. The rebel army will gather once again against Israel, surrounding Jerusalem. This battle, gathering rebels from all over the world, a vast number said to be like the number of grains of sand, will end much like Armageddon with the annihilation of these wicked warriors. Fire falls from heaven and consumes all these armies. Read v. 10: Here is the final removal and fate of Satan: He will never more be heard from or appear. What welcome news! Hallelujah! Read vv. 11-15: THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT The final verses of chapter 20 speak of the final judgment following the Millennial Kingdom. This is the Great White Throne Judgment of all the wicked dead of all ages, from Adam’s time forward. The Judgment is based upon works, demonstrating the punishment is deserved. These ones are evil, proven by evil works. Their sins, which have been preserved in God’s book of deeds, are read, and they stand condemned. Their names are not found in the book of Redemption, the book of those who have received the forgiveness of their sins. It is a sobering thought that every sinful deed we have done is written down! But for those accepting the forgiveness won at the cross, the record has been expunged—removed, buried in the deepest sea. Psalm 103 tells us that as far as the east is from the west so far has God removed our sins from us! But woe to those who have rejected the offer of forgiveness. If one’s name is missing from the book of the redeemed, he is cast into the lake of fire, where in his eternal resurrected body, he will suffer for eternity. Again, what a dreadful fate! I want to turn our thoughts now back to the Millennial Kingdom, and what it will be like. As we read through this chapter, there are few details given. Many have discounted the existence of a Millennial Kingdom, denying that it will even happen. If these few references were all that speak of this 1000- year period, perhaps one could find grounds for such a view. But there are multitudes of verses which do speak of a Kingdom Age where all the promises made to Israel will be fulfilled and where we as the Bride of Christ will rule with King Jesus. III. THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM: WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE? One observation relating to the 1000 years: if we take the seven years of the Tribulation and the 3 ½ year divisions literally, why would we not take the 1000 years literally? Revelation 20 only gives us the length of this period; the details are given elsewhere, primarily in the Old Testament. I believe that God will literally fulfill all the promises He has made to Israel. The Church does not inherit promises made to Israel; Israel and the Church are two separate entities. Israel has been set aside during the Church Age, the time between Pentecost and the Rapture, but God will resume working with Israel as a nation during the Tribulation. He regathers all believing Jews to the land of Israel to fulfill all His promises to them. An earthly Kingdom in the Land of Israel was promised; it is now fulfilled. Consider these detailed prophesies predicting Christ’s reign over all the earth: Isaiah 2:2-4: (Read) Christ will reign over all the world from Jerusalem, establishing a world-wide standard of law; all nations will seek the wisdom of Christ in ruling. Universal peace will be experienced; no more wars or conflicts. Daniel 7:13-14: (Read) All peoples and nations will serve Christ in an everlasting dominion and kingdom. How does this relate to the 1000 years? Is the Kingdom to be limited only to these years? At the end of the 1000 years, after the Great White Throne Judgment of the wicked dead, God will create a new heaven and a new earth, for this present world has been marred and scarred by sin. The Millennial Kingdom is an intermediate stage of the eternal Kingdom. Chapter 21 and 22 give more details about time after the Millennium. Christ’s Kingdom will continue in this new earth—forever. Zechariah 8:1-3; 7-8; 20-23 (Read) During the Millennium, Jewish people will be granted the respect deserved as God’s Chosen People. The wealth of the nations will be freely given, most likely as joyfully given tribute and gifts to King Jesus. Isaiah chapter 60 gives details of this: (60:3-5, 11-through the rest of the chapter.) Zechariah 14:8-11: (Read) The geography of earth will be changed, noted here in Israel. Although I won’t read Ezekiel 40-48, these chapters give detailed instructions about an expanded Temple in Jerusalem, far bigger and more glorious than any temple yet built. Memorial offerings will be reinstituted, as will the feasts of Israel. One fascinating detail will be that when Jesus returns, Zechariah 14:4 tells us that His place of “touch-down” will be the Mount of Olives, (it was from there that He ascended into heaven). When His feet touch the ground, the mount will split to the north and the south, forming a vast valley reaching to the Jordan river. Ezekiel 47 tells of a river that begins to flow from under the door of the Temple, beginning as a trickle, then becoming a deep river. Listen to this detail: (Ezekiel 47:1-10). The Dead Sea will no longer be dead, but a place where fish and wildlife abound. The earth will become very productive. Isaiah 35 tells how the desert will bloom and will become productive. Amos 9:13: “Behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine and all the hills will be dissolved.”There will be long life and gladness: Isaiah 65:17-25 (Read) IV. WHAT ABOUT THE GENTILES IN THE MILLENNIUM Since the Old Testament was written to the Jews, most of the verses describing the Millennium relate to Israel, but there will be great numbers of Gentiles—non- Jews—populating the earth also. All these groups of people, initially all believers, will also enjoy the prosperity and peace and blessing of the Kingdom. All the verses which tell of the riches brought to Jerusalem speak of the prosperity and fruitfulness of the gentile nations. What will be the role of the church? All those saved between Pentecost and the Rapture—will be with Christ. Listen to Jesus’ words in John 14:1-3: “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” After the Rapture, we will be with Christ wherever He is, although in what sense is not clear. We are the Bride of Christ. The Millennium will be one extended Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 19:28, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children of farms for My name’s sake, shall receive may times as much, and shall inherit eternal life.” I Corinthians 6:2: “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? Apparently, we shall be involved in judging the fallen angels who are the demonic forces. 2 Timothy 2:11-12: “It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him we shall also live with Him; If we endure, we shall also reign with Him…” In Revelation 5:9-10 we read, “And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are You to take the book, and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” If we as the Church, the Bride of Christ, are to reign and rule on earth during the Millennium, as scripture has made clear, it seems we will be supervising and advising and administering justice among the peoples of the world, representing King Jesus. The exact nature of this ruling and reigning is yet to be revealed. The vastness of distinct and detailed prophesies made about the coming Kingdom of the Messiah demand a time when these things take place. Add to this the fact that the covenants made to Israel, the Abrahamic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant and the New Covenant all were eternal covenants, and we have I believe ironclad proof for the Millennium where all these promises will be fulfilled, and which will be continued into eternity.